Ed Burke - The Saratogian 03/01/14
Troy's Connor Nicoll goes to the basket during Saturday's Class A final versus Scotia-Glenville in Glens Falls.

GLENS FALLS >> It is often that the two teams expected to make the championship game in the preseason actually find their way to the title matchup.

It’s less often that those two teams live up to the hype when they finally get to settle who is better on the court.

But on Saturday night, at the Glens Falls Civic Center, it all played out that way as Scotia topped Troy 77-75 in double overtime for its third straight Section II Class A championship.

Tartans’ junior Scott Stopera sealed the deal for the No.1-ranked team in the state in the final moments of the second OT, sinking three free throws from the line after he was fouled on a last-shot attempt. Troy led 75-74 with time running out. Stopera let one fly from beyond the arc, and with the Troy defense attempting to deny a game-winner, drew a foul to set up the dramatic finish.

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“It was crazy,” Stopera, who finished with nine points, said. “I’m speechless. I’ve been struggling really bad this year. I was like 40% from the, line so I’ve been shooting as many as I can every day because I knew I was going to need them eventually. ”

After trailing by as much as 10 points in the fourth quarter, the Horses — ranked No.3 in the state — battled their way back in the final minutes of regulation before Dyaire Holt once again hit the clutch shot for his team.

With only seconds left on the clock, the sophomore standout, who finished with a team-high 21 points, drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 60 all to force overtime.

“The play was for Zach (Radz) actually,” Holt, who was named to the all-tournament team said. “But they jumped out on him so I knew I had to just step up and take the shot. It was just what I had to do. I just thought this isn’t over yet. We wanted another try.”

The two teams exchanged points in the first minutes of overtime, before the Tartans grabbed a bit of control with 1:35 left after Schuyler Salyes drained a 3to put Scotia up by four.

“The grit on these kids is just absolutely resilient,” Scotia coach James Giammattei said. “We knew it was going to be a fist fight, one team was going to take it from the other. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They don’t look like much, they’re not very intimidating, but together, they’re great.”

Maurice Watson cut the lead to two points, but with 37 remaining left, Joe Cremo missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have sealed the deal for Scotia.

The Flying Horses answered with their own pair of free throws as senior Connor Nicoll drained two from the line, tying the game at 67 all and forcing another round of overtime.

“Those are big free throws in a high-pressure environment,” Hurley said of Nicoll, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “It takes winners to make those shots.”

With four minutes back on the clock the two teams were ready to keep fighting and as the clock continued to wind down, they both knew it was going to continue to be a battle.

Radz gave the Horses a three-point edge with just over two minutes left after he was fouled outside the arc and sank all three of his shots. The junior, who was also an all-tournament selection, finished the game a perfect seven-for-seven from the line.

“We had just really locked into the scouting report,” Radz said. “Anything we could do to win, we did.”

After swapping baskets again over the next 30 seconds, Cremo stepped up exactly when his team needed him the most.

The UAlbany commit and Class A tournament MVP drove the lane with 38 seconds left on the clock, cutting the Troy lead to one.

“To be honest, I didn’t even think it was going in,” Cremo, who finished with a triple double of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, said. “It bounced off the front of the rim and I was like please, roll up. It did, it went in. I think it was just the heart of this team that pulled it out tonight.”

But Cremo wasn’t done, yet.

The Horses took the ball back and looked to work it inside, but after a missed first attempt, Cremo blocked Troy’s put-back, giving the Tartans back the ball with just over five seconds remaining.

“I missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have won us the game,” he said. “Then in the first OT I could have took a charge on Radz and I didn’t do it. So I knew I had to make a big play on defense. I got the block and I wasn’t going to let it go.”

Troy’s defense held strong on the Tartans’ final possession, but as Stopera shot a last-second three-point attempt, he was fouled, sending hm to the line and writing another chapter in Section II basketball history.

“They threw a couple of knock out punches, but we stayed on our feet,” Giammattei said. “TKO’d but up. Wobbling, gashes, ankle injuries, but they held.”

The victory sends Scotia on to regional play against Section VII champ Peru on March 5th. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Saratoga High School.

For Troy though, the loss is a disappointing end to a season that was all about proving themselves.

“Winning is hard, it’s not easy,” Hurley said. “It’s a tough way to lose. But that was a great high school basketball game.”